The Lord, knowing that we were fragile, left us the sacrament of Penance, where the soul is not only restored, but, if it had lost grace, it emerges with new life. We must have recourse to this sacrament with full sincerity, humble, contrite, with a desire to make reparation. A well-made Confession requires a profound examination (profound does not necessarily mean long, especially if we confess frequently): if possible, before the Tabernacle, and always in God's presence. In the examination of conscience, the Christian sees what God expected of his life and what he really was; the goodness or malice of his actions, the omissions, the missed occasions..., the intensity of the fault committed, the time spent in it before asking for forgiveness.10
The Christian who desires to have a delicate conscience, and for this purpose often confesses himself, "will not be satisfied with a simply valid confession, but will aspire to a good confession that will help the soul effectively in its aspiration towards God. For frequent confession to achieve this end, it is necessary to take this principle seriously: without repentance there is no forgiveness of sins. From this comes this fundamental norm for one who confesses frequently: not to confess any venial sin of which one has not seriously and sincerely repented.
"There is a general repentance. It is the sorrow and detestation of the sins committed in the past life. This general repentance is for frequent confession of exceptional importance, "11 for it helps to heal the wounds left by weaknesses, purifies the soul and makes it grow in love for the Lord.
Sincerity will always lead us to descend to those small details that make our weakness better known: how, when, for what reason, how long; avoiding both insubstantial and tedious details and generalization, saying with simplicity and delicacy what has happened, the true state of the soul, fleeing from the ramblings, like "I was not humble", "I was lazy", "I lacked charity"... things, on the other hand, applicable almost always to common mortals. In practicing frequent Confession, we must always take care that it is a personal act in which we ask the Lord's forgiveness for very concrete and real weaknesses, not for diffuse generalities.
This sacrament of mercy is a safe haven; there wounds are healed, what was already worn out and aged is rejuvenated, and all the deviations, big and small, are remedied. For Confession is not only a judgment in which debts are forgiven, but also medicine of the soul.
Impersonal Confession often hides a point of pride and self-love that tries to mask or justify what it humiliates and leaves, humanly speaking, in a bad place. Perhaps you can help us, to make this act of penance more personal, by taking care of the way we confess: "I accuse myself of ...", since this sacrament is not an account of things that have happened, but a humble and simple self-accusation of our errors and weaknesses before God himself, who will forgive us through the priest and inundate us with his grace.
"God be blessed," you said to yourself after finishing your sacramental Confession. And you thought: it's like being born again.
"Then, you continued with serenity: 'Domine, quid me vis facere?'" -Sir, what do you want me to do? -I don't know.
"And you have given yourself the answer: with your grace, above all and for all, I will fulfill your Most Holy Will: "serviam!" -I will serve you without conditions! I will serve You, Lord, as You have always wanted me to do: with simplicity, in the midst of my ordinary life, in the ordinary of every day.